I felt great. I thought that I was going to lose and I won. Also, with the 9 pounds lost, I was able to slip into a cute little dress that I haven’t been able to wear in a while. Fitting into cute fashion is always a mood enhancer for me too 🙂 .
I have a more sober estimate of weight loss moving forward. I was sharing with her, my whole weight story…and she responded, “Oh, you’re like a guy.” Well, I beg to differ considering that I have birthed two kids, but I know what she meant/didn’t take offense. Basically, I was able to eat whatever I wanted growing up without ever having to be concerned about weight. (I was also very active though…participating in team sports and such.) After my mid-20s, it switched to the point where I could still eat whatever I wanted, but I had to exercise in order to not gain weight. Here’s where the uniquely girl part kicks in though…I gave birth to two kids! Actually, the first couple of years, I could eat whatever I wanted, because I was breastfeeding and that burns calories better than any exercise that I know. Eventually, the babies grew up and now that I’m (almost) 39, I actually have to both watch what I eat and exercise in order to not become a “Big Mama”!
So, what are my plans going forward? I will enjoy food without concerning myself with calories on special occasions and celebrations. (February is full of them!) However, when I’m at home, I will be (even more) mindful of what I eat…sticking primarily to the fruit, veggies, proteins and water. Life is too short not to enjoy delicious food, but at the same time, I need to be more thoughtful about what I put into my mouth on a daily basis. Besides that, I think that I will be fine if I just add 30 minutes of exercise a day. (Confession: Besides walking, I really didn’t exercise much during the DietBet. I gain muscle very easily and I was afraid that would negate the effects of my dieting!)
In any event, I’ve met my initial weight goal and I did the happy dance. Now, it’s time to move on. Once again, situations around me constantly remind me that life is short…much too short to be obsessing about weight! Right?
(The post image was taken from an iphone video that the DietBet rep took at my final weigh-in…right before I did the happy dance! Thanks to DietBet for sponsoring this competition and kicking off my weight loss for 2012.)